Nine to Life
by ER Jenn
Summary: They were old legends, I told myself. They're crazy. How could I, Annabeth Chase, be their savior? I'm only 16! Oh, but that's the problem. I'm 16; the golden age. Then, I fell to my death. My heartbeat stopped. My breath shortened. Maybe they're not so crazy. Percabeth and JasonxPiper.
1. Prologue

**AN: Guess who's back? I decided to start this new story- hopefully bigger and better than my last stories. News- Check Up readers, I'm sorry to say but it has come to an end. The last chapter just felt right to leave it at.**

**This new story, Nine to Life, is kind of like The Nine Lives of Chloe King, if you remember that show. It doesn't neccessarily follow the plot line, well in a way it does, with the Mai, but it won't follow the exact show, even that stupid cliffhanger. **

**If you've never seen the show, that's cool. You don't need to. Just read and enjoy. (:**

**this is just the prologue, so hopefully (depending on if my mom was serious or not about cleaning) the first chapter will be up a little later. (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Nine Lives.**

* * *

I'm running.

I can't breathe.

My pants become louder by the second.

_Crinkle. Crinkle. Crunch. Crunch. Crinkle. Crunch._

The never ending pattern of my life flashing by my eyes.

_CRINKLE. CRINKLE. CRUNCH. CRUNCH._

Faster! Faster! I scream at myself. They're gaining on you!

I push my legs harder. My lungs are screaming at me. My legs protest in pain. But I can't stop now. The light. It's so close. I'm so close.

Finally, I reach it. I have the home field now. But as I look behind me I realize that it doesn't matter to them. They'll stop at nothing.

The tower. It's my last chance.

I run inside, tripping and no doubt breaking my leg as I climb up the never ending steps.

I reach the room and look out the window, seeing them circling the tower and running off, no doubt that I've escaped them.

Safe.

I turn around, and suddenly he's there. His scarred face haunts me. A scream builds in my mouth, but I can't produce the courage to make a single sound.

"Goodbye, Annabeth."

I'm pushed. I feel the wind rush through my hair. His face smiling from the window.

Black.

My life consists of black.

* * *

**AN: Just a short little intro! Review! Favorite! Alert! Whatever! Chapter one will get here faster. (:**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Not as much love as Check Up, but still thanks for the reviews! They were very appreciated! (:**

**I'm changing the summary because I'm not proud of it, but other than that, first chapter here we gooo!**

**P.s. Follow me on Twitter at er_jenn**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.**

* * *

_TWELVE HOURS EARLIER_

"Happy Birthday, Boo!" my best friend Piper screamed across the outside patio at my favorite restaurant, Monte Carlo.

"And a 'Boo Boo' to you, too!" I said as I reached the table where her and her boyfriend, Jason, were sitting.

See, Pipes and I had this running thing since we were about 5 when we met. Piper was never able to say my name, Annabeth, so she would call me 'Boo'. Since I'm a smart ass, I screamed at her 'Boo Boo to you, too!' the first time she said it, thinking she was making fun of me.

We've been inseparable ever since.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Annabeth! I can't believe you're finally 16!" Piper said, smiling at the new ideas running through her brain that we could now do.

"Forget that!" Jason yelled. "Did you pass?"

I smirked and held up my newly issued license.

"Of course I did, Jase. Annabeth Chase never fails," I said teasingly.

"OH MY GOD!" Piper screamed, getting up and jumping up and down with me.

"Uh, congrats, Annabeth, but, uh, we're getting weird looks and I'd rather not get kicked out, seeing as I already paid for our food..." Jason said, trailing off at the end.

Piper and I looked at each other and smirked.

"So," Piper started, "I was thinking that you could drive us to the mall first and then-"

"Pipes," I cut in, "I don't even have a car yet. Plus I have to work in, like, an hour."

"Oh, boo you!" she said.

"I boo you, too," I smiled at her.

Friends. The two people I absolutely adored. I loved them more than my own life.

That was my first strike.

* * *

"Hey, Annabeth," my manager, Aphrodite (also Piper's mom), said while motioning me over.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You see that guy right there?" Aphrodite pointed towards a man looking at polos.

"Yeah."

"He's cute, right?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, I haven't really seen-"

"Help him," she cut me off. "The stars are aligned in your favor. I can feel it."

I raised my eyebrow at her. You see, Aphrodite had this suspicion in stars and astrology and all that, especially when it came to love.

"Fine," I mumbled.

I walked up to him as looked at a blue polo.

"So, are you looking for something blue?" I asked him.

He turned around and my breath caught in my throat.

This guy was HOT. And I mean it. I never really look at guys, but this one... man... Those gorgeous sea-green eyes... And that hair...

"Um," he said interupting my thoughts, "actually, I'm looking for something new."

"Well... You might have come to the wrong place. The clothes here aren't exactly new..." I trailed off as my eyes drowned in his.

"No," he said quietly, almost whispered, really. "I came to the right place."

My mouth formed an 'oh'.

I don't know how long we stared at each other, but I just stood there, memorizing every single feature. His nose. His chin. The way his eyebrows scrunched up adorably.

It must have been awhile because Aphrodite made a not-so-subtle cough.

"Oh," I jumped, restarting my thoughts, "um, do you need any help?"

"No," he said, straightening up and blinking like he just woke up. "I just need to check you- I mean, uh, check out."

I giggled.

"Come on, I'll check you out," I said, smirking at my phrase.

I rang up the blue polo shirt and he paid me.

"Thanks, have a nice day!" I said, putting on my fake 'Welcome to Aphrodite's! I'm paid for this, so don't piss me off!' smile.

"Thanks," he stumbled out of his mouth, turning to leave.

He stopped in his tracks.

"Wait," he said turning. "I don't believe I got your name."

I smiled.

"Annabeth. Annabeth Chase."

"Annabeth," he said.

I've always hated my name, but the way he said it...

"What a beautiful name for a beautiful face," he smiled. My stomach twisted. My face burned and I was, I'm sure, a tomato.

He turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called.

He stopped and swiveled back around.

"I believe you owe me something," I smirked.

He raised an eyebrow.

"A name."

"Percy Jackson."

Strike two.

* * *

"Oh my gosh! Annabeth! You have to tell me everything! My mom wouldn't stop squealing!" Piper said as the three of us sat in her huge, as in the entire floor of her mansion, room.

"Well..." I trailed. "He was very attractive."

"Annabeth," Piper whined, " I already know that. When I say 'everything' I mean _everything._"

"Okay, fine," I sighed. "He's tall, muscular, tan, seemed about 18. He has gorgeous black hair and loved the color blue. And his eyes... Oh, his eyes..."

Piper snapped me out of my trance before I was lost in 'Percyland'.

"Oh, you've got it bad," she smirked.

"What's his name?" Jason asked, curiously, taking a sip of his water.

"Percy Jackson."

He spit his water on my face.

"EW! JASON!" I screeched, wiping off the water with my sleeves.

"THAT'S MY COUSIN!" he yelled.

I stared at him in shock.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

"No, Annabeth, it's not like I've known him since birth or anything," Jason said sarcastically. "Yes, I'm sure, Annabeth!"

"Wow," Piper muttered, "didn't see that one coming."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Jason!" Piper yelled, standing up from her chair. "I'm a genius!"

"Why are you a genius?" he asked curiously.

"Annabeth can come with us tonight!"

"Pipes-" he started.

"What's tonight?" I asked.

"Every month my family gets together, cousins and all, for this big dinner at that sushi restaurant, and this month's is tonight," Jason said.

"You should come with! I'm going this time since we're official, and we can just use your birthday as an excuse," Piper said.

I thought it over.

"It could work," Jason quipped.

"It _will _work," Piper corrected.

"Okay, I'll go," I smiled.

Piper's scream echoed throughout the floor.

Strike three.

* * *

"Mom!" I snapped as she tried to straighten my dress.

"But, sweetie," she said, "it's wrinkled."

"Mom," I laughed, "it's supposed to be that way."

"Okay, fine," she sighed. "You do look beautiful. I'm jealous of your curls."

"I know," I said. "I've been told."

"And your eyes," she smiled. "Nothing beats those eyes."

"Mom," I warned.

"I know, I know," she said, raising her arms in surrender.

I'm adopted, you see. I look absolutely nothing like my mom. I have blond, curly hair, whereas my mom's is brown and straight. My calculating grey eyes differ from her chocolate brown ones.

My dad used to say that opposites attract. He couldn't have been more right.

"I'll be home before 11," I told her as I grabbed my purse.

"Good. We still have our little celebration, Birthday Girl," she smiled.

"I know," I said, smiling back. "Bye, love you!"

"Love you, too!" she called back.

Batter out.

* * *

"Okay, remember, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades are the three brothers," Jason said.

"They're all divorced," Piper added.

"And they all see their kids once a month at this dinner," I put in.

"Right," he smiled. "Zeus's kids are..."

"You and Thalia," Piper said.

"Hades has Bianca and Nico," Jason said.

"And Poseidon has Percy and Tyson," I added.

Jase smiled and said, "We're good to go. Let's move out, troops."

We got out of the car and headed into the restaurant, Piper and I connected at each side to Jason.

When we entered, Jason steered us to a table in a private section where everyone was waiting.

Percy's eyes widened as I looked at him and winked.

"Jason," a man in his 40s with black hair and a wispy beard greeted. His blue electric eyes caught my attention.

Zeus, I thought.

"Dad," Jason started, "this is my girlfriend, Piper, and our best friend, Annabeth."

I waved along with Piper.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought Annabeth with. Today is her birthday, you see, and Pipes and I promised her the best day ever and felt it rude to ditch her," Jason supplied.

Zeus stared at me with curious eyes, then nodded.

"Plus," Piper added, "Jason spit water on her today so he owes her a huge apology."

"Hey," Jason complained, nudging her.

"Jase," I said, "it was life scarring. I think you do owe me an apology."

"I do not!" he fired back, looking appalled.

"Yes you do," a tough looking girl with short black hair and Jason's eyes said, joining our conversation.

"Hi," she smiled at me, "I'm Thalia, Jason's sister."

She held out her hand and Piper and I shook it.

"Why don't you come sit over here with me?" she nodded to a spot that also happened to be next to Percy.

Piper pushed me. Thankfully I was wearing flats, so I didn't fall on my face.

"Ow," I said, glaring at her. She just rolled her eyes.

I sat down in the chair as Piper and Jason went and sat at the opposite end of the table with Jason's dad and two other men that I presumed to be Hades and Poseidon.

Thanks, guys, I thought.

"So, Annabeth," Thalia said, "this is my cousin Nico," she pointed to a pale, scrawny looking dude that looked like he hadn't slept in a month.

"Hi," he said, looking at me with curious dark eyes.

"And this," she continued, "is the ever annoying-"

"Percy," I filled in.

"You've met?" she asked, raising her black brow.

"Just this morning," Percy supplied.

"He came into the store where I work, and I checked him out," I said.

"Mhmm," she smirked.

My face paled.

"I-I mean," I stumbled, "I checked his, erm, clothes out. I mean, I-"

Thalia interrupted me with a laugh.

"I like you," she said.

"So," Percy spoke up, his face red, "today's your birthday?"

"Yeah, I just turned 16," I told him.

"Well happy birthday," he smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled back.

"Now, that's a better smile. The one you had this morning was too fake," he said, his adoring eyes searching mine.

"That's my 'Don't piss me off. I'd rather not be here.' smile. This, right here, this is my 'I'm happy talking to you' smile," I winked.

Thalia laughed.

"Scratch that," she said. "I _love _this girl."

Then, I saw him.

His eyes searched the table, then met mine.

My face paled.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, not looking at him. The man left.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," I whispered.

I bolted from my chair and all but ran away. I heard Piper call my name in surprise.

I ran out the door and into the parking lot to try and meet him, but he was gone. I circled the area and sighed, thinking that I lost him.

"Annabeth," a cold voice said, bringing shivers to my skin.

I turned around.

There he was, in his glory. Blond hair, blue eyes, he was handsome, really. If only he wasn't trying to kill me...

"You were tough to find," he said, smirking at me as he circled around my body. "But not impossible."

I knew him from before. He'd been stalking me for weeks. He was outside my window in the bushes, the school parking lot, my work...

I'd been too scared to tell anyone.

"What do you want?" I snapped, glaring.

"Oh, it wasn't about what I wanted," he scoffed, scowling at me in disgust. "It was about finding the right time."

He raised his hand, ready to gut me with a knife.

I opened my mouth, prepared to scream.

He went to strike, and my senses opened up.

I dodged the knife and slapped his face.

"Ow!" he yelped. Blood ran down his face and where his left eye was... where his left eye was...

I looked down at my hands.

Claws. I had claws.

His face was scratched.

Soon there were two others, both in black. One held him back while the other knocked him out cold.

Thalia. Nico.

They turned.

Their eyes were... were...

And their hands...

I ran.

"Annabeth!" Thalia called.

The woods, I thought.

And off I went.

* * *

I'm running.

I can't breathe.

My pants become louder by the second.

_Crinkle. Crinkle. Crunch. Crunch. Crinkle. Crunch._

The never ending pattern of my life flashing by my eyes.

_CRINKLE. CRINKLE. CRUNCH. CRUNCH._

Faster! Faster! I scream at myself. They're gaining on you!

I push my legs harder. My lungs are screaming at me. My legs protest in pain. But I can't stop now. The light. It's so close. I'm so close.

Finally, I reach it. I have the home field now. But as I look behind me I realize that it doesn't matter to them. They'll stop at nothing.

The tower. It's my last chance.

I run inside, tripping and no doubt breaking my leg as I climb up the never ending steps.

I reach the room and look out the window, seeing them circling the tower and running off, no doubt that I've escaped them.

_Safe._

I turn around, and suddenly he's there. His scarred face haunts me. A scream builds in my mouth, but I can't produce the courage to make a single sound.

"Goodbye, Annabeth."

I'm pushed. I feel the wind rush through my hair. I see his face smiling from the window.

Black.

My life consists of black.

* * *

**AN: There you have it! Chapter one! Review, please. I want to know if I should continue! And follow me on Twitter!**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: All shall be revealed in this chapter...**

**Thanks to all of those who reviewed/favorited/followed! I really appreciate it when people do that because otherwise I never know if my readers liked it, hated it, were kind of on the line between hate/love, etc.**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.**

* * *

_I needed a wire to climb and grab a hold and at the edge you were sitting there, holding a rope._

_We'll go up, up, up_

_Clouds by Zach Sobiech- check out his video on SoulPancake_

* * *

Black morphed into white as I laid on the ground.

_Am I dead?_

The white got brighter and brighter until finally...

I opened my eyes.

My vision blurred until I could make figures of people standing above me, looking at me.

The noises around me were mumbled and confusing.

"She's alive!" I finally made out.

"Impossible! I checked her pulse!" another one yelled.

"Miss, an ambulance is on it's way!"

"Can you hear us?"

"Do you see anything?"

"She had no pulse!"

I finally came to my senses through the chaotic happenings.

Did I die?

I didn't stay long enough to find out.

I bolted up and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, ignoring the calls for me to stop.

Looking back once, I noticed a big pile of red liquid.

It was where my head was.

Blood. My blood.

My leg didn't hurt; I was sure I had broken it on the climb up the Coit Tower.

My head didn't hurt; I knew I had hit it when I was pushed, the blood proved it.

I finally found myself on my street, running into my house and slamming the door behind me.

"Sweetie?" I heard my mom call from the other room.

Her words were like mush, my thoughts raced a mile a minute.

"Oh my gosh!" I heard her gasp.

That jarred me up.

"What?" I asked, suddenly alert. Was my head bleeding? Did any bones look out of place? Was my body transparent? Did I grow another eye?

"How on Earth did you rip that much?" she asked bewildered.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion, then looked down. Sure enough, the bottom half of my dress was completely ripped.

My mom waited for my answer.

"Um," I stuttered out, "I, uh, I fell. Um, down some steps. Uh, yeah. I fell down some steps."

My mom raised her eyebrow, but didn't press any farther.

"Well, that explains why you're home so early. You look like you've seen a ghost, honey. Why don't you go take a shower," she pressed.

"Shower," I said. "Right. Sounds good."

I ran up the stairs and ripped off my dress, throwing it in the garbage, yet another proof of my fall to death.

I went in my bathroom and started the shower, looking around the room while I waited for the water to heat until something caught my eye.

I stared at the mirror, my mouth fell agape.

On my back... On my back...

I _did _die.

Oh my God.

I died.

The bruises that blacked out my back proved it.

I, Annabeth Chase, am a walking zombie.

* * *

"Annabeth Chase, what the hell happened?" Piper yelled through the phone. "Jason and I called you at least a hundred times! Where did you go? You ran out of there so fast... And Percy! You scared the shit out of him! He's called me every 5 minutes asking if you'd called or not!"

"Pipes..." I started.

"Don't you 'Pipes' me!" was her response.

"Come to my house. Now," I told her. "Something happened."

"What?" she asked.

"Just come over."

* * *

"So, what did you need to tell me?" Piper asked after the bone-crushing hug and the Do-that-again-and-I'll-feed-you-to-the-bears speech.

"More like show," I said as I lifted my shirt, showing her my back.

"Oh my God!" she gasped.

"I know," I told her. "I don't know what is going on, but something weird happened..."

"Okay, I can't play this any more," she said. "I'm teasing. What am I looking at?"

I looked at her in confusion then turned towards my mirror.

The bruises were gone.

"What the hell?" I whispered, lifting my shirt up and down again, trying to figure out what happened.

"Okay, I'll bite," Piper said. "What happened today?"

"Pipes... I... I think I died today," I told her, looking her straight in the eye.

She laughed.

"Ha ha, funny joke!" she wheezed out.

"Piper, I'm being serious!" I snapped.

"Okay," she said when she settled down. "I'll play. How, exactly, did you die?"

"I... Well, you know how I ran out of the restaurant?"

Piper gave me an 'Are you serious?' look.

"Right, well, it's because this guy was there who had been stalking me for a while now, and I met him outside... and I... and I... I had... I had... Oh my God! Thalia and Nico!" I screeched.

"Yeah? What about them?" Piper asked raising her eyebrow.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Well," Piper started, "they went to search for you and came back with no luck, so they're both at Jason's with the rest of his family. I'm supposed to go back and update them when I'm done here. I figured you'd had enough fun for one night."

"No," I said. "No, I haven't. Let's go to Jase's. I need to talk to them. Now."

"Are you sure?" she asked me incredously.

"Now, Piper," I insisted.

"Well, okay, then," Piper muttered and said something else that I didn't quite get.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

"Annabeth!" Jason screamed as soon as I walked in his house, squeezing the life out of me.

He pulled back and held me by the shoulders as one by one Jason's family started to come by the door.

"What the hell was going on back there?" he all but yelled in my face.

"Relax, Jase," Percy said, pulling Jason away and proceeding to give me a hug. "I think Annabeth's dealt with enough today."

I saw Thalia out of the corner of my eye.

"You," I said pointing to her. "We need to talk."

"Why?" Jason asked.

Thalia just nodded and walked away, motioning me to follow her, Nico trailing behind.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked, confusion scrunching his eyebrows.

_God, he's hot._

"I'll be back," I told him, then followed Thalia and Nico into a room.

As soon as Thalia shut the door, I turned towards her and snapped, "What the hell?"

"What happened when you got rid of us?" was all she asked.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"Please, Annabeth," Nico said. "It's important."

"I was pushed off of the Coit Tower, that's what happened!" I yelled.

"Did you die?" Thalia asked.

"What kind of a question is that?" I demanded.

"Did you?" Nico pressed.

"It's a 210 foot fall, what do you think happened?" I asked.

"It's you," was all he said.

"What?"

"Annabeth," Thalia started, "have you ever heard of the ancient Egyption legends?"

"Of course," I told her. I didn't have a 4.0 GPA for nothing.

"Then you know who Bastet is, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, the cat goddess. Half cat half human."

"Correct," she said. "Have you ever heard of the Mai?"

"Yes. They were descendants of her. They defended the human race for awhile until 16th century BC when Ramesses defeated them."

"Right," she said. "You really are smart."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"So what does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"Everything," she said. "You saw what happened earlier."

"Wait... You're not saying... God, you guys really are crazy," I smirked.

"Gods," she said.

"What?" I asked.

"We use the term 'Gods' since we know that the Egyptians really are out there," Nico supplied.

I laughed nervously.

"Even if it was true," I said.

"It is," Thalia corrected.

"Whatever," I said. "The Mai would have died hundreds of years ago when they went to war with humans."

"Oh, most of them did," Thalia said. "But a couple went into hiding and have lived amongst humans for many years, helping them in peace in the shadows."

"So there's more?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. The only other known one in America is in New York, but there's definitely more out there around the world."

"So even if I did believe this," I said. "Why did that guy push me off a tower? Who is he?"

"He's from The Order," Thalia said.

"The Order?"

"A human group of assassins sent to kill any remaining Mai," Nico said as he casually picked his nails, looking bored.

"Right," I said. "Silly me. So why didn't I die?"

"That's a good question," a man said as he opened the door.

Zeus.

"And what are you in all this?" I asked him.

"I'm the leader of the San Fran coven," he said simply.

"Riiight," I said, giving him an odd look.

"It's true," Thalia said.

"So what's this about me not dying?" I asked, changing the lucid subject.

"Well," Nico said. "You're the Uniter."

"The whaat?" I asked.

"The Uniter," Thalia said.

"And what's that? Does that mean I get special bodyguards?" I smirked.

"Annabeth," Zeus laughed. "We aren't supposed to save you."

His last words chilled me.

"You're here to save us all."

AN: I finished this on my iPhone, so sorry that there's no line and this isn't bold- its bugging me enough already. Doc manager sucks on iPhones. Thanks again for all the reviews- so here's an idea: review more? Give me feed back? Favorite? Alert? Tweet me? (: enjoy the weekend! I'm up north at my cabin so next update probs won't be until Monday.


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